Self-closing collapsible tube



FIG. 3

T. F. SCI-ILICKSUPP Filed March 15. 1951 SELF-CLOSING COLLAPSIBLE TUBE INVENTOR M490 1 BY QZ L4 Z ATTORNEYS Feb. 10, 1953 Patented Feb. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to collapsible tubes for dispensing such things as tooth paste, shaving cream, petroleum jelly, etc.

Self-sealing or self-closing collapsible tubes have been proposed having a fixed member and a relatively movable member which control the discharge outlet of the tube, the movable member being biased by a spring to a position in which the discharge outlet is closed and being connected to a part on which pressure is exerted by the material in the tube when the tube is squeezed to thereby move the movable member an open the discharge outlet to permit some of the material to be extruded.

While collapsible tubes of this type have been proposed, no one, so far as I am aware, has provided a thoroughly practical and marketable one. One reason for this is that in the proposed tubes a slidable piston has constituted the means for moving the movable member to open the discharge outlet when the tube is squeezed. The use of a piston for this purpose is objectionable because it allows some of the material in the tube to leak past the piston, or between other relatively slidable part which must sometimes be used along with a piston, and into spaces where it accumulates and eventually interferes with the movement of the movable parts. In some of the proposed tubes the piston is located in a special neck portion of the tube and hence has to have such a small diameter that a large pressure must be exerted on the tube to extrude some of the contents. In other proposed tubes the movable member has one or more areas on which the material in the tube can produce a pressure in a direction that opposes and counteracts some of the pressure which is intended to move it to the position in which the discharge outlet is open and therefore a greater squeezing pressure is required on the tube to open the discharge outlet and extrude some of the contents than if such areas did not exist.

According to the present invention I provide a self-sealing or self-closing collapsible tube having a diaphragm instead of a piston for moving the movable member, the diaphragm being located at the upper end of the body portion of the tube where it can have a large diameter, rather than in a neck portion of the tube. The

diaphragm prevents any of the material inthe tube from getting into spaces where it can interfere with the operation of the movable member, and the movable member presents no surfaces or areas on which the material can produce a pressure in opposition to the pressure which opens the discharge outlet when the tube is squeezed. In addition to these features, my selfclosin collapsible tube has certain other advantageous features which will be hereinafter referred to.

A collapsible tube embodying the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the tube.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the discharge end of the tube taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig.- 4 is a vertical section through those portions of the movable and fixed members which control the discharge outlet, the members being shown in the position in which the discharge out let is fully open.

The collapsible tube comprises a body portion I (Figs. 1 and 2) made of any one of the materials of which collapsible tubes are usually made, such as thin flexible metal. The body portion is permanently closed at one end a shown at 2 (Fig. 1) and at its other end has a tapering wall 3 provided with a central opening 3' (Fig. 2). A tubular, or sleeve-like, member 4 projects through the opening 3' and is free to slide longitudinally therein. The inner end of the tubular member 4 is connected to a diaphragm 5 which is clamped at its periphery within the body portion of the collapsible tube. A fixed or relatively stationary cylindrical member or post 6 is disposed coaxially within the movable tubular member 4 with its outer surface in spaced relation with the inner surface of the member 4. The fixed member 6 is supported at its inner end on a plate 1 which may be an outwardly extending flange formed integrally on this member. The plate or flange 1 is perforated to provide a number of openings 8. The peripheral portion 9 of the flange bears against the peripheral portion of the diaphragm 5 and when an annular lip 10 formed within the body portion of the collapsible tube is bent over the edge of the flange the diaphragm 5 is clamped at its periphery within the collapsible tube and at the same time the member 6 is fixedly held in the position shown in Fig. 2.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4 the outer end of the movable tubular member 4 is contracted and tapers inwardly to a discharge opening or outlet The wall of this opening is in parallel relation to the central axis of the two members 4 and 6. The extreme outer end of the fixed inner member 6 is reduced in diameter to form a cylindrical portion l2 of such size as to fit snu ly within the opening H of the outer movable member i but loosely enough so that when the outer member i moved axially relative to the inner member the opening H of the outer member can move onto and off of the cylindrical portion i2 of the inner member as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4. The shoulder IS on the inner member 6 which results by reason of the provision of the reduced portion 12 on the inner member is beveled or tapered as shown. The inner conical surface at the end of the outer member 4 seats on the tapered shoulder 13 in the retracted position of the outer member as shown in Fig. 2 and thi shoulder therefore constitutes a stop for limiting the inward movement of the outer memher.

The outer member 4 is yieldingly retracted or biased to the full-line position shown in Fig. 2 by resilient means which could be a coil spring but which is preferably a piece of tubing l4 made of soft rubber or suitable plastic material. This piece of tubing surrounds the outer tubular member 4, there being a small clearance between the outer surface of the member and the inner surface of the piece of tubing. The tubing I4 bears at its inner end against the diaphragm 5 close to its juncture with the inner tubular member 4 and bears at its outer end against a shoulder 15 formed on the end wall 3 of the body portion 1 of the collapsible tube. The resilient tubing 14 normally retains the diaphragm 5 in the full-line position shown in Fig. 2. In this position of the diaphragm the outer member 4 is in its retracted position in which the cylindrical portion I2 at the Ti.

extreme end of the inner member 6 fits within the opening H in the outer member 4.

When the tube is squeezed to extrude some of its contents, the material in the tube, passing through the openings 8 in the supporting flange of the inner member 6 and up into the annular space between the inner and outer members, exerts a pressure on the diaphragm 5 and moves the diaphragm, and also the outer member 4, to the broken-line position shown in Fig. 2. This unseat-s the end of the outer member 4 from the end of the inner member 6 and permits extrusion of some of the contents of the tube through the discharge opening I l as best shown in Fig. 4.

The piece of resilient tubing [4 compresses or bulges slightly to permit movement of the diaphragm and when the pressure on the collapsible tube is discontinued the tubing Hi returns the diaphragm and the outer member 4 to normal position in which the end of the outer member seats on the end of the inner member-6 and thus closes the discharge opening II.

The discharge of material from the tube is stopped by the movement of the discharge opening it onto the cylindrical portion [2 on the inner member 5 and it is for this reason that these parts should have a fairly close fit. Also because of this the outer member i must be accurately guided with respect to the inner member and this is preferably accomplished by providing the outer member with a number of inwardly extending ribs it (Fig. 3) which bear at their inner ends against the outer surface of the inner member. The shoulder 13 on the inner member is made extremely narrow so that very little material tends to remain between this shoulder and the surface of the outer member which seats on it in the closed or seated position of the outer member.

The outer member 4 and the diaphragm 5 may be formed in one piece as shown in Fig. 2. They may, if desired, be made of suitable plastic material and the diaphragm may be thinned by pro viding it with an annular recess or depression ii to give it greater flexibility. The diaphragm has the greatest freedom of movement throughout its entire range of movement when it has, in its normal position, a slight downward inclination from its periphery toward its center (as viewed in Fig. 2), and has a corresponding upward inclination from its periphery toward its center in the other extreme of its movement so that in moving from its normal position to the other limit of its movement it passes first to a horizontal position and then the same distance beyond the horizontal position. All of which means that the quality of resilience or ability within itself to return to the inward or normal position is entirely absent from the diaphragm.

In order that air will not be compressed within the space just above the diaphragm 5 when the tube is squeezed and the diaphragm is moved outwardly, there is provided a radially extending groove 53 in the shoulder 15 through which air can pass and then escape through the clearance between the opening 3 and the outer wall of the movable member 1.

While the inner member 6 is shown as a hollow tubular member with a closed upper end it may be a solid post if desired. The material being extruded does not have to pass through this member but passes through the annular space between its outer wall and the inner wall of the outer member 4 as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2.

It will now be seen that no material in the tube can get past the diaphragm except that which is on its way to the discharge opening of the tube. There are no spaces in which the material can accumulate in such a way as to eventually interfere with the movement of the movable parts, and there are no completely enclosed spaces in which air can be compressed during movement of the diaphragm to hinder its movement. Since iii) the diaphragm is located in the body portion of the tube, as distinguished from a smaller neck portion, it can be given a large diameter and therefore a slight squeezing pressure on the collapsible tube is sufficient to move the outer memher 4 and permit some of the contents to be extruded through the discharge opening ii. It should be particularly noted that the movable member has no surface at all on which the material can act, when the tube is squeezed, to produce a force which opposes the force that moves the movable member to open position. The only surfaces on which the material in the tube can act to produce movement of the movable member 4 are the under surface of the diaphragm 5, the lower edge faces of the ribs I8, and the interior conical surface at the outer end of the movable member, and the force on all of these surfaces is in the direction to move the movable member to its open position. Since the cylindrical end I2 of the inner member E5 is received within the opening H of the outer member with a plunger like action and with a fairly close fit, the discharge of material is cut off very effectively when the outer member moves to closed position, and since the upper end of the inner member is then flush with the upper end of the outer member any small amount of material adhering to the discharge end of the flexible tube can be easily rinsed or wiped off so that the discharge end of the tube will always have a clean and neat appearance.

I claim:

1. A self-closing collapsible tube comprising a body portion which is permanently closed; atone end, a fixed member and a relatively movable member at the other end of the tube, one of said members having a discharge outlet controlled by the movement of the movable member and through which the contents of the tube may be discharged, a flexible and substantially non-resilient diaphragm located in the body portion of the tube and connected to the movable member, means within the tube clamping the outer periphery of the diaphragm in fixed sealing relation to said body portion, said diaphragm being subjected at one side to the pressure of the contents of the tube when the tube is squeezed and serving to then move the movable member to a position in. which said discharge outlet is open, said diaphragm being capable of flexing from a position on one side of the plane of its periphery to a similar position on the opposite side thereof, and resilient means normally biasing the diaphragm to normal position in which the movable member is in a position in which said discharge outlet is closed.

2. A self-closing collapsible tube comprising a body portion which is permanently closed at one end, a fixed member and a relatively movable member at the other end-of the tube, one of said members having a discharge outlet controlled by the movement of the movable member and through which the contents of the tube may be discharged, a flexible and substantially non-resilient diaphragm located in the body portion of the tube and connected to the movable member, means within the tube clamping the outer periphery of the diaphragm in fixed sealing relation to said body portion, said diaphragm being subjected at one side to the pressure of the contents of the tube when the tube is squeezed and servin to then move the movable member to a position in which said discharge outlet is open, said diaphragm being capable of flexing from a position on one side of the plane of its periphery to a similar position on the opposite side thereof,

and resilient means norm-ally biasing the diaphragm to normal position in which the movable member is in a position in which said discharge outlet is closed, every surface on the movable member on which the contents of the tube can act to produce movement of the movable member when the tube is squeezed being a surface on which the contents of the tube act in a direction which tends to move the movable member to the position in which the discharge outlet is open.

3. A self-closing collapsible tube comprising a body portion which is permanently closed at one end, a fixed member and relatively movable member at the outer end of the tube, one of said members being a post in coaxial relation with the body portion of the tube and the other being a tubular member surrounding the post in coaxial relation therewith and with its wall spaced from the outer surface of the post to form a discharge space in communication with the interior of the body portion of the tube, the outer end of said tubular member having a discharge opening in communication with said discharge space and whose wall is in parallel relation with the axis of said members, said post having a portion at its outer end adapted to occupy said discharge opening with a close but freely sliding fit, a flexible and substantially non-resilient diaphragm located in the body portion of the tub and con- 6 nected to the movable member, means within the tube clamping the outer periphery of the diaphragm in fixed sealing relation to said body portion, said diaphragm being subjected at one side to the pressure of the contents of the tube when thetube issqueezed and serving to then move the movable member axially of the tube to a position in which said end portion of the post notwithinsaid disch-argeopening in the tubular member thereby permitting the extrusion of. some of the contents of the tube, said diaphragm being capable of flexing froma position on one side of the plane of its periphery to a similar position on the opposite side thereof, and resilient means normally biasing the diaphragm to normal position in which the movable member is in a position inwhich the end portion of the post is located within said discharge "opening inthe tubular'member to thereby close it.

4. A self-closing discharge mechanism for a collapsible tube which closed at one end, said mechanism com-prising a fixed inner member; an axially movable outer sleeve-like member sur rounding and spaced "from said fixed member to leave between them an annular passage in communication at its inner end with the interior of said collapsible tube, said outer sleeve-like member having a contracted outer end portion having a cylindrical opening therethrough, said fixed member terminating at its outer end in a reduced cylindrical portion with a shoulder at the base'thereoi, said reduced cylindrical portion fitting said opening and the inner surface of said contracted portion around the periphery of said opening being arranged to fit against said shoulder, means operatively connected to said sleevelike member and responsive to pressure from within said collapsible tube body for axially moving said member to shift it away from said shoulder and beyond the end of said reduced portion to allow discharge of material from within said collapsible tube, and resilient means for biasing said sleeve-like member to move it against said shoulder to cut off the flow of said material when said pressure is removed.

5. A self-closing discharge mechanism for a collapsible tube which is closed at one end, said mechanism comprising a fixed inner member, an

axially movable outer sleeve-like member surrounding and spaced from said fixed member to leave between them an annular passage in conmunication at its inner end with the interior of said collapsible tube, said outer sleeve-like member having a contracted outer end portion having a cylindrical opening therethrough, said fixed member terminating at its outer end in a reduced cylindrical portion with a shoulder at the :base thereof, said reduced cylindrical portion fitting said opening and the inner surface of said contracted portion around the periphery of said opening being arranged to fit against said shoulder, means operatively connected to said sleevelike member and responsive to pressure from within said collapsible tube body for axially moving said member to shift it away from said shoulder and beyond the end of said reduced portion to allow discharge of material from within said collapsible tube, and resilient means for biasing said sleeve-like member to move it against said shoulder to cut oil the flow of said material when said pressure is removed, the outer end of said sleeve-like member when in such position being flush with the end of said fixed member.

6. A self-closing discharge mechanism for a collapsible tube which is closed at one end, said mechanism comprising a fixed inner member, an axially movable outer sleeve-like member surrounding and spaced from said fixed member to leave between them an annular passage in communication at its inner end with the interior of said collapsible tube, said outer sleeve-like member having a contracted outer end portion having a cylindrical opening therethrough, said fixed member terminating at its outer end in a reduced cylindrical portion with a shoulder at the base thereof, said reduced cylindrical portion fitting said opening and the inner surface of said contracted portion around the periphery of said opening being arranged to fit against said shoulder, a flexible diaphragm connected to said sleevelike member and responsive to pressure from within said collapsible tube body for axially moving said member to shift it away from said shoulder and beyond the end of said reduced portion to allow discharge of material from within said collapsible tube, means clamping the outer periphery of the diaphragm in fixed sealing relation to said body portion, and resilient means for biasing said sleeve-like member to move it against said shoulder to cut oif the flow of said material when said pressure is removed.

7. A self-closing discharge mechanism for a collapsible tube comprising a body portion, a fixed member and a relatively movable member positioned Within the body portion, one of said members having a discharge outlet controlled by the movement of the movable member and through movable member is in a position in which said discharge outlet is closed.

THEODORE F. SCI-ILICKSUPP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,621,097 Zammataro Mar. 15, 1927 1,911,616 Gruber May 30, 1933 2,069,009 Jackson et al. Jan. 26, 1937 2,128,035 Boetel Aug. 23, 1938 2,185,323 Arnold Jan. 2, 1940 2,556,571 Bobbs et al June 12, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 264,713 Italy May 8, 1929 

